I was wondering if you could tell me more about the KU student who conducted the "Amahl and the Night Visitors" portion of the Holiday Vespers concert.

Vera Volchansky is from Volgograd, Russia. The Vespers performance helped her complete the requirements for her doctorate degree. She earned her bachelor's degree from Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa., and a master's degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.
She has received a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Rostov Orchestra and Orchestra Congress Orchestra of the Philharmonic Society of St. Petersburg, Russia. She will concentrate on learning the repertoire of Russian 20th century composers.